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Library Undergraduate Research Awards

This award is thanks to the generosity of Gilbert and Marie
Cleasby.

The Oregon State University Libraries is pleased to announce the seventh annual Library Undergraduate Research Award. This award recognizes and rewards OSU undergraduate students who, through the comprehensive use of the OSU Libraries, demonstrate outstanding research, scholarship, and originality in writing a paper or completing a project. Typically there are two awards; $1000 scholarship awarded to an upper division undergraduate in the humanities and $1000 scholarship awarded to an upper division student in the social sciences/sciences/engineering from Oregon State University.

Students must write their research papers or complete their research projects as part of their coursework at OSU. The intent of this award is to foster outstanding information literacy skills through the extensive and sophisticated use of the library services, resources and collections.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the competition, individuals must:

Currently be enrolled as a student (at least part-time) at Oregon State University in any discipline (including all branch and e-campus students)

Have completed a research project for a credit course at OSU during the Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall terms of 2014. A project may be in any format or medium

Individual or group projects are eligible

Awards are given as scholarships, with funds applied directly to the students’ OSU billing account. Therefore the winning students MUST be enrolled at OSU at the time of the award

Agree to contribute their papers or projects to the permanent archives of the Oregon State University Libraries

Evaluation Criteria

Humanities Award

Submissions will be judged and evaluated on:

Creativity, originality, and the extent of the use of library services, collections, and resources, including, but not limited to print, non-print resources, databases, and/or primary sources

A 500-750 word introductory essay describing the research strategies, listing library tools and resources used in completion of the project.

A final version of the research project:

Written projects should be double-spaced; there is no minimum or maximum length

For digital projects submit a printout of the first 'page' of the project in addition to the digitally formatted version. Provide a DVD or CD copy of web based projects. For all other project formats consult with the Award Committee Chair for the appropriate format for project submissions.

All other application components must be submitted in paper.

A bibliography citing sources used.

When preparing your application package, do not use staples, bind projects or put projects in 3-ring binders. Use paper clips, envelopes or folders.

Application Deadline and Award Notification

The application deadline has just been extended to February 14, 2015. Neither incomplete applications nor late submissions will be considered. Once the deadline has passed, the committee will begin evaluating the submissions. Winners will be notified no later than April 1, 2015. Award recipients and faculty sponsors will be honored at a reception early in the spring term 2015. Awards are given as scholarships, with funds applied directly to the students' OSU billing account.

Evaluation Committee

A panel composed of OSU faculty, librarians and other educators will judge entries on the evidence of the applicant's research strategy, process, and personal learning, as demonstrated in the paper and summarized in the research essay. Expectations for achievement will be commensurate with the applicant's class year and the requirements of the discipline .